An evening of Caribbean poetry and music will be taking place to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Bristol Bus Boycott. The event at the Bristol Old Vic will be headlined by the poet, playwright and children’s author John Agard, on April 30.
The ‘Spoken word meets Carnival’ event at the Old Vic, presented by Renaissance One, will feature spoken word, a house DJ, calypsonian musician Tobago Crusoe, Georgia Jackson, Muneera Pilgram and Lawrence Hoo. Each artist will explore what their Caribbean heritage means to them in the special event hosted by Edson Burton and Melanie Abrahams.
The Guyana-born writer John Agard, who moved to the UK in 1977, has won multiple awards over the years but is known by many for his poem ‘Half-Caste’, a longstanding feature on the National Curriculum. He will also be reading his book 'Windrush Child' at the SS Great Britain on April 29. Both events are part of the Lyra Bristol Poetry festival, also featuring Sunday Times bestselling writer Hollie McNish and numerous Bristol-based poets and performers, from April 22-May 1.
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This year's festival theme City of Words explores Bristol through the lens of poetry including its people, communities, history, physical spaces and future. The festival ties in with the city-wide Bristol 650 anniversary project, the 60th anniversary of the Bristol Bus Boycott, and Windrush 75.
The Bristol Bus Boycott, which commenced on April 30, 1963, drew inspiration from Rosa Parks and led to the 1965 Race Relations Act which made racial discrimination in public places illegal, with the act extended in 1968 to include housing and employment. The Bristol Bus Boycott came about as a result of the Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews.
Other events connected to the theme include a talk from Ros Martin about Bristol’s Black writers past and present, a film screening of Black British poetry curated by Be Manzini, and an online panel discussion on how cities have been portrayed in poetry, chaired by Madhu Krishnan. The annual Grand Slam Finals at St. George’s Bristol, where wordsmiths compete to become Lyra Slam Champion, is this year headlined by Vanessa Kisuule and Tony Walsh.
For the first time ever, Lyra is hosting an exhibition of poetry at Bristol Beacon showcasing poetry from different community groups, current and former City Poets, and a public contribution wall where you can add your own poems. This will run from April 21 - May 2 in Bristol Beacon’s Glass Room.
Lyra’s 2023 Festival Poet is poet, theatre-maker and curator Malaika Kegode who will engage in community outreach work, host activities, deliver a workshop, perform at St. George’s Bristol and judge the annual Lyra Bristol Poetry Slam. The programme includes readings, performances, workshops, family activities, walking tours, talks, poetry slams, panel discussions, open mics, an audio event and a film screening.
The festival features 100 per cent wheelchair accessible venues, BSL Interpreted events, captioned events and many free or low-cost events. Lyra Festival is co-directed by Professor Lucy English and Danny ‘Craft-D’ Pandolfi. The full programme of events is now live at www.lyrafest.com, where you can find tickets to all individual events, as well as festival passes.
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